Herbivores are organisms that obtain the majority of their energy and nutrients by consuming autotrophic plant material or algae, forming a critical trophic level in ecological and biogeochemical systems. They exhibit diverse morphological and physiological adaptations for processing cellulose-rich diets, including specialized dentition, elongated and compartmentalized gastrointestinal tracts, and symbiotic microbiota enabling fermentation and volatile fatty acid production. Herbivory influences plant population dynamics, community composition, and primary productivity, mediating top-down and bottom-up interactions and driving coevolutionary arms races such as chemical defenses and counteradaptations. In ecosystem and food-web models, herbivores are central to energy transfer from primary producers to higher trophic levels and to nutrient cycling through excretion and biomass turnover.
An analysis of fossil teeth from mammals that lived in China following the most recent major mass extinction suggests size came before both shape and function as diets diversified.
Evolution
20 hours ago
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In addition to humans, some species of primates and birds have demonstrated under experimental conditions their ability to manipulate quantities in tasks that require combining or separating them, in a manner similar to addition ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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47
Many insects will eat almost anything in their sight, such as certain beetles, grasshoppers and locusts, while others are remarkably picky eaters. For example, numerous insect herbivores will feed only on a single plant family ...
A species of moth that was first described in 1818 was believed to be a single species. However, it has since been discovered that it is actually a complex of species, eight of which are found in Brazil. These findings are ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 3, 2026
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North Carolina's blueberry farmers may have a beetle problem. A new study from North Carolina State University has identified destructive beetles inhabiting North Carolina blueberry fields as Prionus imbricornus, a species ...
Ecology
Jun 2, 2026
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Conservationists are in a race against time to prevent one of the world's rarest island plants from disappearing forever, after seeds collected from the only surviving wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree arrived at the Millennium ...
Plants & Animals
May 29, 2026
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339
Some plants are not the sitting ducks they appear to be when they come under attack. If a hungry caterpillar starts to chomp on the succulent leaves of a common bean plant, a highly sophisticated defense system kicks into ...
Wild pigs are generally considered among the world's most problematic invasive mammals. But a major new study from Aarhus Universitet shows that the introduced animals may actually have beneficial effects in North American ...
Plants & Animals
May 28, 2026
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271
New research reveals that plants have the ability to detect their neighbors' growth rates through aromatic cues called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and subsequently adjust how much energy they invest into their own growth ...
Plants & Animals
May 28, 2026
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Insects are declining across Europe. Czech scientists have determined this decline can be mitigated by returning large ungulates—horses, aurochs cattle, and wisents—to landscapes. This has been shown by a recent study by ...
Plants & Animals
May 26, 2026
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